If you did needlework at school...

[PoodlesRUs]

...what sort of things did you learn? What projects did you make? I'm really curious to know.

First thing we made was a needle holder. Two bits of red and yellow felt back to back, blanket stitched together.

I remember nothing in between and then a pencil skirt. I did a cerise and black houndstooth check because it was the ’80s.

Try it. You have the advantage of YouTube, now, and it doesn't rap your knuckles when you make a mistake!

Needlecase in felt with basic blanket stitch (primary), an apron (for cookery lessons), a smock top (I am that old), a blouse. I stopped in 3rd year (Yr 9). I went on to teach food tec in the 80's and 90's where students made lots of great things (not with me), dresses, skirts, blouses, baby clothes with smocking which might sound old fashioned but skilled.

I learned the square root of sod all in needlework classes, partly due to being profoundly uninterested and partly due to being profoundly untalented. We made a sort of tabard apron for cookery classes (otherwise known as house-craft) -my apron was too small to go over my head and had to be altered. My mum ended up getting a neighbour to finish off one of my hopeless sewing projects. I was rubbish at cookery too. I can now cook. I still can’t sew worth a damn though I can do fairly tidy darning, sew on a button etc. I do regret not paying more attention in needlework but if lessons had been about useful stuff like taking up a hem, shortening a garment, I might have been more interested.

I did textiles age 12-14 in a private girls school. We made pyjamas (using a pattern), a log cabin patchwork cushion cover and lots of carrier bags holders (which we sold).

Early 80's. Some kind of hanging thing with pockets. Might have been for storing shoes in maybe. Dunno, never used it. A flannel nightdress and a couple of two tiered skirts, which were awesome and I loved and wore a lot!!!

I loved needlework and wished that my school offered it as an 'O'level. I made a rag doll with clothes on and a nightshirt with button holes and French seams.

I honestly think that learning how to sew a button on properly and how to use a sewing machine were some of the most useful things I learnt at school.

A cookery apron, and then a petticoat (slip) which was ludicrous even in the 60s, and a complete waste of fabric and effort.
Anything really useful was learned from my DM, who was an accomplished dressmaker.

Decades later, dds were making
much the same time wasters - at school nobody taught them really useful skills, like how to sew a button on - properly! - and turn up a hem - properly!
Those were down to me.

The ubiquitous apron and A line skirt.
Denim shoulder bag.
Pair of flared jeans.
Thanks to my great gran I could already knit really well so when it came to knitting I was just left alone to make myself a new school cardigan.

In the 60s/ 70s in lreland we did sample pieces with darning/ sewing buttons/ hemming etc. Kept them in a scrapbook. Also knitted sock with turning the heel etc.
We made a dress at age 12 using school sewing machine. We also made lace/ knitted patchwork quilts/ crocheted etc. Or teacher was very talented but l never found it easy. My hand coordination wasn't great so my mum helped me a lot. My sisters loved it. The boys did gardening, growing vegetables while we sewed. No crossover.!!

A dress, an apron ,a pe kit bag and a needlework case

In primary school, we made a felt crocodile with embroidery on its back. We also made a floppy frog stuffed with rice.

Textiles in secondary school was learning how to use a sewing machine. We made a cushion cover, and a hat. I made a velvet hat, and wore it to a wedding. I did do GCSE textiles. My course work was making a picture from fabric, and batik on silk. I did rubbish at it overall as working to a deadline was my downfall and you can't do practical stuff last minute so much.

I do sew now as a hobby. Mainly cross stitch, and small plushies. it keeps me out of trouble.

In late primary, we knitted a jumper and made a cross-stitch/embroidery sampler. (Aged 10-12ish). In 1st year secondary, we made an apron. I didn’t get to stay on in home economics for 2nd year but I think they made a top they could wear that year.

Late 80s/early 90s: a pair of elasticated waistband trousers in a black/beige seersucker which I actually wore quite a lot!
Cushions with applique (which my mum basically did for me), a cross stitch family tree... some terrible knitting where I seemed to gain a stitch or two with each row.
I was always better at drawing and painting but in retrospect I'm grateful for the foundation this gave me. I recently did a workshop in visible/creative mending and bought myself the mini loom to do this at home and have really been enjoying patching up some holey jumpers with it.

I learned smocking, embroidery and how to use a sewing machine and use a dressmaking pattern to make garments. For O Level ( as it was then in 1970s) I had to make an outfit, and I chose to make pyjamas with a dressing gown.

A quilted bag with a flap - too short to be a cross body

An apron

A skirt

Knitting

An embroidery sampler

Weaving techniques and the weights and uses for different fabrics

I made a peg bag, a pair of shorts (that I still have 35+ years later), a bag for a body board, a rag doll with clothes, and an educational quilted wall hanging.

We had to chain stitch our names on the front of our aprons (for food and nutrition) and our initials on PE shirts. Then make our games skirts (pleated wrap over skirts with name chain stitched on waistband) I was in the 2nd half, so did food and nutrition first, then they ran out of the games skirts fabric - I had to do PE (including hockey etc) for most of the year in games knickers which was rather scarring.

I was the first year group to do GCSE Needlework. Made a black pencil skirt and a white blouse which I wore for waitressing jobs and interviews. Also made a silver jumpsuit that I loved!
My DD is doing GSCE Design & Technology Fashion & Textiles just now and has made an educational children’s toy. It’s really good, but writing this has made me realise how little sewing/making she’s done in these 2 years compared to what I did 30+ years ago.

I remember making a complete arsd of putting a zip into a skirt at school so I smuggled it home in my schoolbag and my sister did it for me.
The teacher must have nearly died of shock at the lovely zip sewing by the class dunce.

An appliqué dragon with sequin scales

Needlework. We learned some embroidery stitches, we each embroidered a bookmark, made an apron and headband to use in domestic science lessons.

The teacher was a horrible bitch.